Assessment of market price determinants of live goats in three district municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Goat production is essential to South African rural livelihood despite being faced with numerous challenges. Goat trade is crucial for African rural households' welfare, and food security. The study aimed to assess market price determinants of live goats in three Eastern Cape Province district municipalities. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire obtained information from randomly selected 210 out of 350 goat farmers. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science to generate means, frequency, and percentage. Pearson's chi-square test was used to analyze farmers' demographic profiles, flock structure, and price determinants of goats. The results revealed that goat farming in the study areas was dominated by men (78%), and 43% were between 41 and 60 years. More than 40% of the respondents had advanced secondary education and more than 10 years of farming experience, holding between 2-5ha land with a household size ranging from 4-6 members. Regarding flock structure, female goats accounted for a higher proportion (53.2%) than their male counterparts (46.8%). Cash income (42.3%) was the main reason for keeping goats in the study areas. This is followed by traditional ceremonies purpose, while milk purpose was the least reason goat's farmers in the study area keep goats. Findings revealed that body size (p<0.001), colour (p<0.05), sex (p<0.01), age (p<0.001), season (p<0.001), breed (p<0.05) and head type (p<0.05) were the main determining attributes for the market price of live goats in the study areas. The study revealed that most goat farmers sell live goats during December (57%) compared to other seasons (43%). This could be attributed to the many traditional ceremonies among the Isixhosa people, who comprise the study area. The desired features and attributes influencing prices should be informed and incorporated into the breeding. It could be concluded that the size of the goat and the season are the main determinants of prices for goats in the study area. Additionally, various stakeholders should create market linkages and access to market information systems to convert the system into market-oriented using a value chain framework. Key words: Income, size, colour, season, live goats, South Africa